Because mythology is such a rich, multi-layered area of interest, numerous
themed tarot decks have it as their subject. The Mythic Tarot by famed
archetypal astrologers Liz Greene and Juliet Sharman-Burke is based on the Greek
myths, as are the Tarot Mitologico and the Derakkusu. There are several decks based on Arthurian
legend and Celtic myth in general, and, of course, there are various
Egyptian-themed decks. Then there are decks that are multi-cultural in their
approach to myth, such as Kris Waldherr's Goddess Tarot.

The Olympus Tarot by Manfredi Toraldo focuses on Greek mythology, yet is
quite different from the Greene-Sharman-Burke collaboration. Each of the Majors
is linked to a particular deity, based on "what the god represented for the
common mind of the Greek world." The little white booklet (LWB) names the
God or Goddess for each of the Majors, as well as the nature and qualities of
the deity. There are also three keywords provided: a concept or area affiliated
with the god or goddess (such as "unbiased thought" for Athena/Justice
or "complete thought" for Uranus/World), a behavioral aspect of
said divinity ("honesty" for Artemis/Moon, for example), and the
"dominating character(istic)" of the deity (such as
"virginity" for Artemis/Moon, or "confusion" for
Dionysus/Hanged Man). Some of these examples are clear to me, others are
significantly less so.

The Minor Arcana, however, is where the confusion becomes distinctly thicker
and murkier. In the Olympus Tarot, Wands "are the primordial force present
in the human soul which...is always alive and represented by the imaginative
creatures which crowd the stories." Some of the creatures are the Minotaur,
who, in the Six of Wands, represents "fury" and the many-headed
Cerberus, who denotes "boundary" in the Eight of Wands. The court
cards are also creatures, including the giant Atlas, the King of Wands. While I
can definitely "see" this card as a King of Wands, fury and boundary
are keywords I would never think of for the Six or Eight of Wands, respectively.
Correlating the suit of Wands to creatures is a conceptual jump that is more
interesting than it is productive for me as a reader.

Chalices are correlated to places, such as Sparta for the Four of Cups
(Struggle, based on the battle at Thermopylae) and Ulysses' old homestead,
Ithaca (Revenge is the given keyword for this card) graces the Nine
of Cups.

The Swords are attributed to heroes, who are all male with the exception of
the Queen of the suit, who is based on Arachne. We've come a long way, baby.
Maybe. Some of these heroes are not particularly heroic; the Four of Swords
shows Midas shrinking back from the golden statues he has created and the Five
displays Narcissus staring into a pool of water, seeking his selfhood in vain,
so to speak.

Pentacles are, appropriately, objects. The Two of
Pentacles is a lovely depiction of Icarus in flight (but his wings are the
stated objects), and familiar mythic objects such as Hippolyte's belt and the
Trojan Horse make an appearance in this suit. The King of Pentacles, though, is
Prometheus' Fire, which seems an odd choice for an earth suit. This dichotomy is
caused by the categories assigned to each suit, and it occurs enough to cause
discordance.

Much like the Greek Myths, the Olympus Major Arcana cards encompass dramatic
victories and blatant setbacks. Pan, identified with the Devil in the
Herbal Tarot, is here associated with the Fool, which works wonderfully. As in
the Derakkusu, The Moirae are assigned to the Wheel. But
Dionysus as the Hanged Man (as opposed, let's say, to the Devil) isn't nearly as
successful a correlation, as Dionysus is described even in the LWB as the
"god of pleasure and joy." The Devil in this deck is ascribed to
Hecate, whose hellhounds are the only reason I can see for this ascription.
Hermes, often associated with the Mercurial Magician in Golden Dawn-derived
decks, is assigned to the Chariot. I know He's the Messenger God, but the
Chariot is not, to me, about messenger service in any way. Hera is known
primarily in her wifely role, so Hestia, assigned to the Olympus Tower (!),
seems a more fitting High Priestess goddess corollary to me. As you can see, the assignments
seem quirky at best, and a mixed bag at worst.

The following are the Major Arcana cards and their attributions, so you can
hand down Olympian judgments for yourself:

The
Fool
Pan
The
Magician
Zeus
The High
Priestess
Hera
The
Empress
Aphrodite
The
Emperor
Ares
The
Hierophant
Cronus
The
Lovers
Eros
The
Chariot
Hermes
Justice
Athena
The
Hermit
Poseidon
The
Wheel
The Moires
Strength
Hephaestus
The Hanged
Man
Dionysus
Death
Hades and Persephone
Temperance
Demeter
The
Devil
Hecate
The
Tower
Hestia
The
Stars
Hebe
The
Moon
Artemis
The
Sun
Apollo
The Judgement
Phobos, Deimos and Harmonia
The
World
Uranus

The cards measure approximately two and a half by five inches, and are
printed on the usual (excellent) quality semi-gloss cardstock Lo Scarabeo
employs. Each Major card has the title printed in English on the top right, with
the Roman numeral of the card placed on the top left in dark mustard-colored
ink. On the bottom border, the card title is listed in French, Italian, German,
and Spanish. As is traditional in Italian decks, Justice is numbered VIII,
Strength, XI. Backs are reversible and depict
a two-sided battle scene, elegantly and classically depicted. The artwork by
Luca Raimondo is uniformly excellent.

I recommend this deck to those who embrace decks with a mythic theme, art
lovers, and, of course, tarot collectors.